Peter Barlow
Peter Barlow

Prof Peter Barlow BSc (Hons) PhD FHEA FRSB

Professor

Biography

Professor Peter G. Barlow BSc (Hons) PhD FHEA FRSB is Chair of Immunology and Infection, within the School of Applied Sciences at Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland, UK.

Research Interests

Professor Barlow’s research interests lie in studying the human innate immune system with a view to developing novel therapeutics for infections. He is particularly interested in studying the activities of Host Defence Peptides (HDP), principally in the context of viral infections, such as influenza and rhinovirus, as well as the Flaviviridae, Dengue Virus. Hehas recently led aprojects funded by the Medical Research Council and the CSO investigating HDP as novel therapeutic antivirals for dengue virusand rhinovirus infection, and maintains a broad network of collaborators, including with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Host Defence Peptides, also known as antimicrobial peptides, are key components of the immune response. These peptides have been shown to display a broad spectrum of antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activities and, as such, are exciting targets for novel therapeutics.

This research is complemented by his collaborative work on novel peptide based therapeutics for the treatment of Crohn’s Disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease and antibiotic-resistant infections.

Prof. Barlow also has a long-standing interest in the impact of particulate air pollution on the immune system, and was recently part of a Royal Society of Biology Panel submitting evidence for the UK Government Clean Air Strategy. He is also a member of the Food Standards Agency Committee on Toxicity.

The concepts of his work can be expanded to broadly include many different types of inflammatory and infectious conditions, but are unified by the common interest in the multiple roles of host defence peptides in the immune response.

External Roles, Research and Strategic Leadership

Professor Barlow demonstrates extensive experience in research leadership, having served as Director/Head of Research for the School of Applied Sciences from January 2015 to August 2021 and leading the School to grow external income by generation by over 400% since this time. He is currently Chair of the Chief Scientist Office Clinical Academic Fellowship funding panel as well as Chair of the NHS Assure Funding Panel. He has previously served as Chair of the British Society for Immunology Inflammation Affinity Group, and on the Executive Committee for the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Association (SULSA) and the Governing Council of the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland. He has a strong focus on science and technology innovation, particularly in the Life Sciences, and has undertaken consultancy for a number of businesses, also related to Covid-19, in this respect. He currently sits on the expert advisory panel for Dunedin Solutions Ltd.

Prof Barlow is also a member of Edinburgh Infectious Diseases, the hub for infectious disease research in Edinburgh, and a member of the British Society of Immunology, where he has acted as a media spokesperson. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and previously served as an Editor of the Journal of Medical Microbiology.

Prof. Barlow is passionate about public engagement with science and is Media Spokesperson for the British Society for Immunology. He also writes regularly for The Conversation and undertook a British Science Association Media Fellowship in the summer of 2018 with BBC Scotland.

Speaking about his own work, and the work of others, he has been interviewed by, or had comments published in, a number of outlets including BBC News, Sky News, BBC Radio, Scientific American, ITN News, STV News, Scotland Tonight, BBC Countryfile Winter Diaries, LBC Radio, The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Herald, The Scotsman, The Daily Express, The Daily Record, The Edinburgh Evening News, Deadline News, Yahoo News, ABC News (USA), NBC News (USA), CBS News (USA), The Atlanta Journal and Constitution (USA), Washington Post (USA), Fox News (USA), The New York Post (USA), The Associated Press, Agence France Presse, Newsweek, The Scientist, Voice of America News (USA, France) and in online platforms The Huffington Post & IFL Science.

He has reviewed research funding applications for UKRI (MRC, BBSRC, EPSRC, CSO) as well as La Caixa, UKIERI, The Royal Society / Academy of Medical Sciences, Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland.

Career History

Peter graduated with a PhD from Edinburgh Napier in 2004 with a thesis that examined the effects of nanoparticles on macrophage mediated clearance mechanisms in the lungs, under the direction of Prof. Vicki Stone. In 2005, he took up a post in the MRC / University of Edinburgh Centre for Inflammation Research to work in the laboratory of Dr. Donald Davidson as part of the Lung Inflammation Group. It was in this role that he developed an interest in the immunomodulatory activities of Cationic Host Defence Peptides (CHDP) and the ways in which they could influence cell death pathways in the context of acute infection and inflammation.

In 2009, Peter moved to the United States, where he worked within the Influenza Division of the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. In CDC he developed expertise in handling highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses and took part in the global response to the 2009 novel H1N1 pandemic. He also developed his own program of research relating to the antiviral activities of CHDP on influenza viruses. In June 2011, Peter returned to Edinburgh to take up the post of Lecturer and Principal Investigator in Immunotoxicology at Edinburgh Napier University. In October 2013, Peter was awarded a University Readership and in January 2015 was appointed Director of Research for the School of Applied Sciences, a role he held in 2021. In August 2017 he was awarded the title of Associate Professor and promoted to Professor in August 2019.

Themes

News

Events

Esteem

Advisory panels and expert committees or witness

  • Member of Governing Council of the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS)
  • Chair of the British Society for Immunology Inflammation Affinity Group
  • Member of Executive Committee, Scottish Universities Life Science Alliance (SULSA)
  • Invited Member of Royal Society of Biology Working Group to prepare response to Government Consultation on the Clean Air Strategy for the UK
  • Secretary of the British Society for Immunology Inflammation Affinity Group

 

Conference Organising Activity

  • Conference Presentation - Gordon Research Conference on Antimicrobial Peptides 2017. Ventura, California, USA.
  • Conference Presentation and Award - British Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (BSPGHAN) 2017 Annual Meeting (Best Poster)
  • Conference Presentation and Award (Best Poster) - Edinburgh Infectious Diseases Annual Symposium
  • Conference Presentation - European Health Psychology Society and British Psychological Society Division of Health Psychology Conference 2016
  • Conference Presentation - Edinburgh Infectious Diseases Annual Symposium.
  • Invited Judge, 2nd Annual Scottish Biomedical Research Conference
  • Conference Presentation - British Society for Immunology / NVVI Annual Congress 2016, Liverpool, UK
  • Conference Presentation - British Society for Immunology / NVVI Annual Congress 2016, Liverpool, UK
  • Conference Presentation - British Society for Immunology / NVVI Annual Congress 2016, Liverpool, UK
  • Conference Presentation - The Society for General Microbiology Annual Conference, Birmingham, UK.
  • Conference Presentation - The Society for Reproduction and Fertility Annual Conference, Oxford, UK.
  • Conference Presentation - Edinburgh Infectious Diseases Annual Symposium, Edinburgh, UK.
  • Conference Presentation - The Third European Meeting on Animal Chlamydioses. Paris, France
  • Organising Committee Member - British Society for Immunology Summer School, Edinburgh, UK
  • Conference Presentation - British Society for Immunology Summer Meeting, Liverpool, UK.
  • Conference Presentation - Scottish Toxicology Interest Group (STIG) Bi-annual Meeting, Glasgow, UK.
  • Conference Presentation - NanoImpactNet - QNano Conference, Dublin, Ireland
  • Conference Presentation - Society of Leukocyte Biology 2012 Annual Meeting. Maui, Hawai’i.
  • Conference Presentation - European Congress of Immunology 2012, Glasgow, UK.
  • Conference Presentation - British Society for Immunology Annual Congress, Liverpool, UK
  • Conference Presentation - Tri-society annual meeting of the Society for Leukocyte Biology, International Cytokine Society, and International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research, Lisbon, Portugal.
  • Conference Presentation - European Scientific Conference--Antimicrobial Peptides: New challenges for Science, UK
  • Conference Presentation - 10th Biennial Meeting of the International Endotoxin and Innate Immunity Society. Edinburgh, UK
  • Conference Presentation - Scottish Immunology Group (BSI) Summer Meeting, St Andrews, UK
  • Conference Presentation, 14th Euroconference on Apoptosis, Sardinia

 

Editorial Activity

  • Editorial Board - Journal of Medical Microbiology

 

External Examining/Validations

  • External subject examiner for validation of 4-year PhD programme “Medical Sciences & Translational Research 4 year PhD with integrated studies in Engagement for Impact”, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh
  • External Examiner for PhD viva voce of Dr. Lara Leclerc, National Institute of Science and Technology of Saint-Etienne, France

 

Fellowships and Awards

  • British Science Association Media Fellow
  • Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
  • Award for Best Invited Presentation, Inflammation in Bacterial and Viral Infection (IBVI) Conference

 

Grant Funding Panel Member

  • Chair of Chief Scientist Office Clinical Academic Fellowship Interview and Award Panel
  • Chief Scientist Office Clinical Academic Fellowship Award Panel Member
  • Invited Reviewer and Academic Grant Panel Member for Austrian Science Fund (FWF) Doctoral Programme (DK)
  • Invited Academic Panel Member for UKIERI Research Grant Applications
  • Invited Academic Grant Panel Member for The Carnegie Trust

 

Grant Reviewer

  • Invited Grant Reviewer - ZonMw COVID-19 Programme, The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development
  • Invited Grant Reviewer for FWF Austrian Science Fund
  • Invited Grant Reviewer for Austrian Academy of Sciences
  • Invited Grant Reviewer for the Chief Scientist Office (Scotland)
  • Invited Grant Reviewer for La Caixa Grant Funding
  • Invited Grant Reviewer for The Royal Society / Academy of Medical Sciences
  • Invited Grant Reviewer for The Carnegie Trust
  • Invited Grant Reviewer for the Medical Research Council (MRC)
  • Invited Grant Reviewer for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
  • Invited Grant Reviewer for the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)

 

Invited Speaker

  • Invited Speaker - The role of host defence peptides in dengue virus and rhinovirus infection. The University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia.
  • Invited Speaker - Host defence peptides as novel antiviral therapeutics. The Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, Jakarta, Indonesia.
  • Keynote Speaker - Can we ever cure the common cold? Edinburgh International Science Festival, Hosted by Edinburgh Skeptics
  • Invited Speaker - Modulation of autophagy and inflammation in rhinovirus infection. Edinburgh Immunology Group Annual Symposium. Edinburgh, UK.
  • Invited Speaker - Edinburgh Infectious Diseases Annual Symposium. Edinburgh, UK.
  • Invited Speaker - British Society for Immunology Annual Conference, Brighton, UK
  • Invited Speaker - British Society for Immunology Summer School, Edinburgh, UK.
  • Invited Speaker - Inflammation in Bacterial & Viral Infection Conference. Edinburgh, UK.
  • Invited Speaker, Death, Danger and Immunity, Pasteur Institute, France
  • Invited Speaker, American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference, San Francisco, USA
  • Invited Speaker, Infections and Lung Disease, Pasteur Institute, France
  • Invited Speaker, Scottish Society for Experimental Medicine Meeting, Edinburgh, UK

 

Media Activity

  • 19 September 2019 - Quoted by AOL UK “Experimental cold treatment offers ‘complete protection’ from virus”
  • 23 December 2019 – Commentary article in The Conversation ‘Can you die from the common cold?
  • 17 October 2019 - Interviewed by The Telegraph “Why haven't we cured the common cold? "
  • 4 September 2018 - Work profiled in interview with Scientific American for article "Why haven't we cured the common cold yet?"
  • 9 February 2018 - Work profiled in BBC Countryfile Winter Diaries appearance
  • 14 June 2018 - Interview with USA NPR affiliate KPCW / Cool Science Radio on curing the common cold
  • 14 May 2018 - Media statements on new therapeutic target for common cold. Comments published in a number of outlets including; BBC News, The Telegraph, The Sun, The Daily Mail, Newsweek, The Scientist, IFLScience, Atlanta Journal and Constitution
  • 18 June 2018 – Media coverage on researching cures for the common cold, following publication of commentary article in The Conversation “We have a good chance of curing the common cold in next ten years – a scientist explains". Comments were published in The Express and The Scotsman, and The Scotsman also published an editorial on our work.
  • 12 December 2017 - Interviews with The Guardian newspaper and BBC Radio Ulster on the existence and prevalence of “man flu”.
  • 17-21 August 2017 - Online and print media coverage in the Daily Mail, The Scotsman, The Herald and other major outlets on publication of paper on air pollution and the immune system
  • September 2017 - Print interview in Top Sante magazine on Chronic Inflammation
  • 2-3 August 2017 - Live Interview with Sky News, LBC Radio and significant media coverage in the Daily Mail, The Scotsman, BBC News, The New York Post, Sky News, and other major outlets on publication of paper on antiviral peptides and rhinovirus
  • 5 April 2017 - Invited media comments on Impact of Antibiotic Use in Animals and Human Health
  • 22 June 2016 - Media statement on golfer Rory McIlroy and Zika virus, published in Yahoo News and Voice of America France
  • 4 August 2016 - Media statement on Zika virus vaccine in Rhesus monkeys. Comments published in The Telegraph
  • 3 August 2016 - Media quotes on 'the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance', published in Albany Daily Star
  • 12 February 2016 - Statement on ‘Zika Virus and Guillain-Barré Syndrome’ given as a Spokesperson for the British Society for Immunology and distributed via the Science Media Centre
  • 19 May 2016 - Fifteen live radio interviews on BBC local radio 'The global report on antimicrobial resistance'. Radio stations included; BBC Ulster, BBC Manchester, BBC World Service (Focus on Africa), BBC Wales, BBC Cornwall, BBC Jersey, BBC Merseyside, BBC Stoke, BBC Sussex, BBC West Midlands, BBC 3 Counties, BBC Cumbria, BBC Derby, BBC Gloucestershire, BBC Hereford & Worcester
  • 31 October 2016 - Media statement on 'Zika virus effects on mouse testes' given as a Spokesperson for the British Society for Immunology and distributed via the Science Media Centre. Comments were published in The Daily Mail print and online.
  • 29 February 2016 - Statement on ‘Patients diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) during the Zika virus outbreak in French Polynesia in 2013-14’ given as a Spokesperson for the British Society for Immunology and distributed via the Science Media Centre. Comments published by over 450 worldwide media publications / news agencies including; NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, Daily Mail, The Washington Post, Fox News, The Associated Press, Agence France Presse
  • 30 November 2016 - Commentary article in The Conversation ‘Zika has crossed the Rio Grande … now what?’
  • 18 September 2015 - Interview with Cycling Fitness Magazine on exercising with the common cold
  • 26 February 2015 - Interview with The Herald ‘Scottish scientists search for new cold cure’
  • 19 November 2015 - Live interview on Sky News ‘Antibiotic Resistance’ (Presenter; Kay Burley)
  • 20 November 2015 - Recorded interview on Voice of America news, ‘Antibiotic Resistance’ (Presenter; Henry Ridgwell)
  • 9 October 2014 - Interview with Edinburgh Evening News ‘Expert says Ebola risk to Scotland ‘very low’’
  • 2 December 2014 - Commentary article in The Conversation ‘New 15-minute saliva test for Ebola may be big boost in the fight against outbreak’
  • 17 November 2014 - Commentary article in The Conversation ‘Bird flu is back, but should we be worried?’
  • 8 October 2014 - Commentary article in The Conversation ‘Ebola won’t gain a foothold in Western countries – here’s why’
  • 15 October 2014 - Recorded television interview with Scotland Tonight ‘Ebola Outbreak in West Africa’
  • 16 October 2014 - Live radio interview with LBC Radio ‘Ebola Outbreak in West Africa’
  • 31 December 2014 Recorded television interview with STV News ‘Ebola Transmission’, (Presenter; Nick Rougvie). Republished online by The Huffington Post, ITN News and Yahoo News
  • 25 October 2011 - Live interview on BBC Radio Scotland Newsdrive ‘New treatments for Influenza’. Additional coverage in: BBC News, The Daily Record, Deadline News, The Scotsman, The Daily Express

 

Membership of Professional Body

  • Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
  • Member and Media Spokesperson for the British Society of Immunology
  • Member of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • Member of the British Association for Lung Research (BALR)

 

Public Engagement Activity

  • STEM Ambassador

 

Public/Community Engagement

  • Invited Judge, Youth and Philanthropy Initative (YPI) Scotland Finals, Craigmount High School, Edinburgh, 2018

 

Reviewing

  • iScience (Reviewer)
  • Frontiers in Microbiology (Reviewer)
  • Access Microbiology (Reviewer)
  • Frontiers in Immunology (Reviewer)
  • Future Medicinal Chemistry (Reviewer)
  • Antiviral Research (Outstanding Reviewer Status)
  • Autophagy (Reviewer)
  • Molecules (Reviewer)
  • Nature Scientific Reports (Reviewer)
  • Chemical Biology & Drug Design (Reviewer)
  • Peptides (Outstanding Reviewer Status)
  • Toxicology Letters (Reviewer – Gold Medal)
  • Immunology (Reviewer)
  • Journal of Biomaterials Science (Reviewer)
  • Journal of Molecular Medicine (Reviewer)
  • BMC Microbiology (Reviewer)
  • Journal of Leukocyte Biology (Reviewer)
  • Nanotoxicology (Reviewer)
  • Respiratory Research (Reviewer)
  • PLoS One (Reviewer)
  • Cell Biology & Toxicology (Reviewer)
  • Pharmaceuticals (Reviewer)
  • American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (Reviewer)
  • mSphere (Reviewer)

 

Visiting Positions

  • Visiting Fellow of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Human and Avian Influenza Research (ICHAIR), Edinburgh, U.K. (2006 – 2011)

 

Date


31 results

Trust, inflammatory biomarkers and adversity: a novel investigation and clinical implications

Journal Article
Chouliara, Z., & Barlow, P. G. (2023)
Trust, inflammatory biomarkers and adversity: a novel investigation and clinical implications. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 51(4), 528-545. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2022.2039899
Survivors of adversity and trauma experience high levels of distress, interpersonal challenges and poor physical health. We investigated the role of trust in trauma-related ps...

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

Journal Article
Klionsky, D. J., Kamal Abdel-Aziz, A., Abdelfatah, S., Abdellatif, M., Abdoli, A., Abel, S., …et al., . (2021)
Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition). Autophagy, 17(1), 1-382. https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2020.1797280
In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have e...

Citrullination Alters the Antiviral and Immunomodulatory Activities of the Human Cathelicidin LL-37 During Rhinovirus Infection

Journal Article
Casanova, V., Sousa, F. H., Shakamuri, P., Svoboda, P., Buch, C., D'Acremont, M., …Barlow, P. G. (2020)
Citrullination Alters the Antiviral and Immunomodulatory Activities of the Human Cathelicidin LL-37 During Rhinovirus Infection. Frontiers in Immunology, 11, https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.00085
Human rhinoviruses (HRV) are the most common cause of viral respiratory tract infections. While normally mild and self-limiting in healthy adults, HRV infections are associate...

The inflammatory bowel disease drug azathioprine induces autophagy via mTORC1 and the unfolded protein response sensor PERK

Journal Article
Hooper, K. M., Casanova, V., Kemp, S., Staines, K. A., Satsangi, J., Barlow, P. G., …Stevens, C. (2019)
The inflammatory bowel disease drug azathioprine induces autophagy via mTORC1 and the unfolded protein response sensor PERK. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 25(9), 1481-1496. https://doi.org/10.1093/ibd/izz039
Background Genetic studies have strongly linked autophagy to Crohn's disease (CD) and stimulating autophagy in CD patients may be therapeutically beneficial. The aim of this s...

The type III intermediate filament vimentin regulates organelle distribution and modulates autophagy

Journal Article
Biskou, O., Casanova, V., Hooper, K., Kemp, S., Wright, G. P., Satsangi, J., …Stevens, C. (2019)
The type III intermediate filament vimentin regulates organelle distribution and modulates autophagy. PLOS ONE, 14(1), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209665
The cytoskeletal protein vimentin plays a key role in positioning of organelles within the cytosol and has been linked to the regulation of numerous cellular processes includi...

Interactions Between Autophagy and the Unfolded Protein Response: Implications for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Journal Article
Hooper, K. M., Barlow, P. G., Henderson, P., & Stevens, C. (2019)
Interactions Between Autophagy and the Unfolded Protein Response: Implications for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 25(4), 661-671. https://doi.org/10.1093/ibd/izy380
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), which includes Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis, is characterised by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Aetiology...

Antiviral therapeutic approaches for human rhinovirus infections

Journal Article
Casanova, V., Sousa, F. H., Stevens, C., & Barlow, P. G. (2018)
Antiviral therapeutic approaches for human rhinovirus infections. Future Virology, https://doi.org/10.2217/fvl-2018-0016
Human rhinoviruses (RV) are the primary etiological agent of the common cold. This infection can be mild and self-limiting in immunocompetent hosts, but can be associated wit...

Carbon Nanoparticles Inhibit the Antimicrobial Activities of the Human Cathelicidin LL-37 through Structural Alteration

Journal Article
Findlay, F., Pohl, J., Svoboda, P., Shakamuri, P., McLean, K., Inglis, N. F., …Barlow, P. G. (2017)
Carbon Nanoparticles Inhibit the Antimicrobial Activities of the Human Cathelicidin LL-37 through Structural Alteration. Journal of Immunology, 199(7), 2483-2490. https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.1700706
Host defense peptides, also known as antimicrobial peptides, are key elements of innate host defense. One host defense peptide with well-characterized antimicrobial activity i...

Cathelicidins display conserved direct antiviral activity towards rhinovirus.

Journal Article
Sousa, F. H., Casanova, V., Findlay, F., Stevens, C., Svoboda, P., Pohl, J., …Barlow, P. G. (2017)
Cathelicidins display conserved direct antiviral activity towards rhinovirus. Peptides, 95, 76-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.peptides.2017.07.013
Human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are the most common cause of viral respiratory tract infections, and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised ind...

Inflammatory Bowel Disease Drugs: A Focus on Autophagy

Journal Article
Hooper, K. M., Barlow, P. G., Stevens, C., & Henderson, P. (2017)
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Drugs: A Focus on Autophagy. Journal of Crohn's and Colitis, 11(1), 118-127. https://doi.org/10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjw127
Inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] is characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Medications such as corticosteroids, thiopurines, immunomodulators and...

Pre-Napier Funded Projects

  • $600 Conference Bursary Award
  • Research Grant - Norman Salvesen Emphysema Research Trust - £40,000 to Dr. Donald J. Davidson (P.I.) and Dr. Peter G. Barlow (Co-I) (2008-2009) The cationic host defence peptide LL-37 as a potential anti-viral agent in influenza infection.
  • £500 Conference Bursary Award British Society for Immunology

Current Post Grad projects

Previous Post Grad projects

Non-Napier PhD or MSc by Research supervisions

  • PhD Completion - Dr Hsin-Ni Li MD PhD (2007-2011) Second Supervisor, University of Edinburgh